Elias
ourservices
ourmodules
ourwork
ourteam
ourblog
« Go Back

Feb 8

Monday

Virtual Work: 3 tips, 3 reasons, 3 pros, and 2 cons for NOT having an office

2
Comment(s)


When people ask me about Elias, it is our team’s virtual setup that usually generates the most interest. I realized the world is different one day while driving down US 135 in Greenwood, Indiana. I was using my iphone to chat on skype with a teammate in New Zealand and business partner in Uruguay about a client in New York.

Inc magazine is using the month of February to conduct an experiment whereby their staff abandons plush office space for the freedom of home workspaces and the occasional noisy coffee shop (sidenote: I am writing this post from a starbucks). The magazine’s blog asked for feedback from other virtual companies – tips, pro, cons, and reasons for working virtually. I posted the response below (hopefully we make the upcoming April article):

Tips for working virtually

Choose the Right People

Not everyone is cut out to work virtually. Hire people who are trustworthy and self-motivated. Use smaller test contract projects with potential candidates to determine how they perform with your team in a virtual work environment before you hire them.

Set Clear Objectives

Cultivate a ROWE (results oriented work environment). It shouldn’t matter when someone clocks in or out if they get their work done. Find a good project management tool like basecamp, activecollab, zoho, or redmine to assign tasks and measure performance.

Invest in Communication

Buy a good headset for sound quality on calls. Take some of the money saved from no office space and spend it on frequent in person team meetings (we meet quarterly for 3-5 days). And use your project and customer relationship management tools instead of email when possible so that everyone has access to the same information.

Why EliasInteractive.com operates virtually

  • Family: We all have strong commitments to our families and our families are rooted in different locations.
  • Access to talent: anyone can join our team without having to relocate, which dramatically increases the potential pool of talent
  • Cost savings: no office space and cheaper standard-of-living costs in our locations.

Virtual Company Pros

  • Focus: I don’t get interrupted by coworkers stopping by my desk.
  • Accountability: Too many managers measure performance based on employees arriving on time and staying late. Virtual work forces you to answer the question, “What did I really accomplish today?”
  • Flexibility: You should work when you are most productive. For some this might be late at night rather than during “normal” business hours.

Virtual Company Cons

  • Boundaries: the lack of separation between home and work can open the door for interruptions from family while working or allow work to bleed over into family time. One of our teammates rents a cheap one room office because it is hard for him to be productive with 4 kids at home.
  • Miscommunication: email, IM, and even conference calls remove nonverbal cues like facial expression and vocal tone which we all use to lend context to our messages. Beware of assuming what a coworker meant and give them the benefit of the doubt.
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Delicious
  • LinkedIn
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati Favorites
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Tumblr
  • Blogger Post
  • Share/Save

Tags: virtual, virtual company, virtual team 

2 Comments



tom says:

February 10th, 2010 at 7:20 pm


video chats can cure the miscommunication con

nothing I can suggest re 4 kids


Josh Colter says:

February 11th, 2010 at 3:04 pm


Thanks Tom. Good suggestion! We’ve tried skype video chat as well as iChat video conferencing. For some reason it felt a little strange and thus we have not used video consistently.

Leave a comment




RSSNew Here?

You should grab our RSS Feed to get updates.


RSSSearch Our Blog



TagsTag Cloud

    business tools coda-slider consulting copy create unique prefix for order numbers custom customize magento custom magento delete test orders Design design content Development dropbox ecommerce stores email marketing fancybox featured products featured products on home page install magento integration Magento Magento advice Magento Commerce magento customization Magento Custom Module magento custom theme magento developer magento development magento ecommerce Magento help magento installation magento modification magento online store magento open source Magento Payment Method magento service provider magento services magento template magento theme magneto ecommerce marketing magento modify magento open source ecommerce scene 7 startup




aboutus

It's simple. Elias Interactive exists to help you get the most out of your software - be it a company website or ecommerce store. Our team is a leader in the popular Magento ecommerce community, works with a variety of CMS solutions, and builds elegant UI designs. We are a small, talented group of tech fanatics. We have an uncompromising commitment to do the right thing. And we are passionate about what we do - changing the world one line of code at a time.


clienttestimonials

videoWhy Elias?
videoWould You Recommend Elias?



Let's Talk


recentposts

Rework Book Critique

Rework is exactly what you would expect from 37signals - simple, easy to read, and "at home good". About 80% of the book's ideas are already accessible in keynotes and interviews. But a succinct,...
Continue Reading »

sep
Pandora persevered: NY Times quote

From March 7, 2010 New York Times article about Pandora radio: It is all a long way from January 2000, when Mr. Westergren founded . Trained as a jazz pianist, he spent a decade playing in rock...
Continue Reading »

sep

» Read More

needsupport?

ContactSubmit a Request
CampfireLive Support is Unavailable at this time



twitterupdates

Does your startup pass The Sleep Test? http://bit.ly/d8QYBS
1 day ago

Thanks @jamespaden for the RT
1 week ago

New Elias #magento module store live with 1st module for sale: configurable bundle products. http://bit.ly/9F1T69
1 week ago

Posting tweet...


» Follow us to stay in the loop





Home | Our Services | Our Modules | Our Work | Our Team | Our Blog

Copyright © 2008-2009 Elias Interactive. All rights reserved.